First couple of days in Australia, 2018

Sydney, Australia - did not ever actually think I would make it there, but there I was, even on Bondi Beach!

This was a surprise gift from Dean, which he arranged with Angela and Anne, (good friends we met in Singapore) to include two weeks in Sydney with Angela, followed by a week up North, on a liveaboard, diving the Great Barrier Reef with both girls! What a great surprise, and a great time. 😎

I rode ferries, trains, buses, helicopters, boats, cars - the whole gamut! I did not get lost, (except on foot once) thnx to Angela's great directions, and accompaniment; she was a great hostess!

Yes, you read that correctly - we did a helicopter tour!

Our pilot, a 23-year-old, was very good; in fact, we were his last tour, after which he would be moving on to becoming an instructor.
How cool is that?!

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Bride from above.

Cool view.

😊

And of course, the famous Pokey Building - also known as
The Sydney Opera House, from above.

Then we saw this building, which the pilot did not know of, but I was intrigued. Upon further investigation, I discovered it is The Rivendell School. The building was officially opened on 21st September 1893!

Rivendell is the name from the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien and was chosen because, in The Hobbit, Rivendell is a place to relax and recuperate - a sanctuary for those on difficult journeys.

The school is for students with mental issues, and special educational needs.  Looks/sounds like a fantastic school.

Fort Denison, which was a former convict prison. The hardened inmates were placed in this prison because they could not escape - unless of course, they wanted to become shark food; funnily enough, the island is also known as  🦈  Shark Island.
*hahaha, love it.

The tour followed the river, winding, winding, winding - awesome.
The views were very spectacular, and yes, the colours are as vibrant as they appear in my photos!
Breathtaking views, every way you turn.  💕

This is the site of the Olympic games in 2000.
They were getting the grounds set up for the Sydney Royal Easter Show; a big event every year, bringing the country to the city.  Great idea.  😁









Angela found a map for me, which takes you on a historical walk around the area where her home is located - how perfect is that!
Let us go walking, shall we?!  😎

The first stop was meant to be the Pyrmont Bridge, which you can not really see from the walking area- however, I did find this fabulous 

fire station: built in 1906 to deal with the compounding fire danger brought on by the intense growth in the industrial development happening in the surrounding area. 

Parked outside the fire station was this old motorbike. I do not know how old it is, or anything about it; just know that it is old, and it is cool.     ⇉⇉⇉

⇐ Next stop is the Austrailian National Maritime Museum.

Only seeing the outside though, did not want to spend my day inside when it was an almost beautiful, trying to be sunny day!

When I turned to look across the bridge leading to Darling Harbour, 

there was the Sydney Tower. 

I think most every city has one of these towers; 

of course with a revolving restaurant on top. 

Across the road from the museum was this building, which I took a photo of so you could see the "Bottleshop".    Bottleshop is Aussie for liquor store.  😉

Here is a very large picture of a lighthouse, because I love lighthouses and it was sitting there just waiting for me to take its picture. 

This lighthouse is located right beside the museum, in Darling Harbour.  

Darling Harbour was the site of a goods yard, which became important in the 1870's due to the growth of the wool industry. 

The wool industry gradually faded away during the early 1980's, and in 1988 Darling Harbour turned into the exhibition, entertainment and tourist precinct it is today.  

This is a seagull on a post - 

I mean it is the HMAS Vampire battleship, built in 1952, docked outside the museum. You could tour the battleship with your museum pass. 

Silly gull on a post, photo-bombing my photo of a battleship...  😏

Speaking of gulls... *hahaha ⇾ 

Sux to be this dude.

👀  Whoa - they are everywhere! 

         Not a seagull.

This is an Ibis; the biggest Ibis I have ever seen! I did not know they came this big, but Australia Ibis do.

In Australia, they are known as 

Bin Chickens.

(garbage bin diggers) *hahahaha

Walking walking walking - 

time for a pause, and to get my barrings... only sort of lost, not completely. 

But I can see the big bridge,  (Sydney Harbour Bridge) the one beside the pokey building, (Sydney Opera House); who knew I was so close?  Not me.

I think it looks closer than it is - and I am not going to go a-walking to find out; that would not be good.

This spot, Pirrama Park, is where the former NSW Water Police used to be located. 

The water cops moved location, and the area became a public recreational space, with a number of different elements offering visitors a chance to experience and engage with water, as well as a bit of history.

Nice touch. 

Then I walked around the courner, and ta-da: there was the other fancy bridge, the Anzac Bridge; 

the bridge right by Angela's place! 

See, I am not lost.

I am found, 

right there on top of the world, looking across the span over to that other bridge! 

More seagulls, just because.

Why not?  

Beautiful, original sandstone wall and staircase, built using the sandstone from the quarry right where Angela's apartment is located.

♡ Love it!  

This area, located in the Johnstons Bay, (the area I enjoyed often -with the Zebra Lounge/restaurant) holds a public swim area containing natural ocean water with a short "wall" which, (hopefully) keeps out the unwelcome ocean dwellers. 

👀  Hmmm, not sure about that.  🦈

I just have to go doowwwwn the stairs, 

around the corner, 

and - 

There it is - the Zebra Lounge/restaraunt!

Yaaaay.   

I knew I was not lost, much.

Waiting right there by the steps up to "my table" were my friends; the whole gang, waiting to have a nice cool drink with me.

♡♡♡ My friends, the Lorikeets. ♡♡♡

The perfect way to finish up my first couple of days in Australia: a bit of sunshine, a bit of history, a nice long walk, beautiful birds, and a good cold glass of Chardonnay by the ocean.

❤  Sweet  ❤

More to come.